A market trader ended up more than £8,000 out of pocket after selling out of date pork pies and mouldy cheese stored in an unrefridgerated van.

Marley Cwmgors Food Limited was found trying to sell large pork pies that were a month out of date, but some of them had had their use-by labels scratched off or obscured.

There was also a large amount of cheese that was also past its best, and was up to two months old by the time environmental health enforcers found it.

And during the investigation, Marley Cwmgors Foods - which also traded as Roberts Foods - provided false or misleading information about suppliers, the shelf-lives of the products, where the delivery vehicles were and about what he intended to do with the food.

Pork pies past their use-by date were found by environmental health officers visited a market stall in Newtown run by Marley Cwmgors Food Limited to take a routine food sample. (Image: UGC TNW)

Director Robert Hodges appeared at Llandrindod Wells Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to five food hygiene offences.

They included:

Selling food with expired use-by dates

Placing food on the market that is unfit

Failing to protect food from contamination likely to render the food unfit

The provision of false information to an inspecting officer

Failure to be able to identify any person from whom they have been supplied with food.

As a result of the officers visit to Newtown and Machynlleth markets, all the foods that were found being stored past their use-by date or were unfit or being stored unrefrigerated were thrown away.

Magistrates fined Marley Cwmgors Food Limited £6,000 for the five offences, and ordered them to pay £2,508.76 costs and a mandatory surcharge of £170.

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Councillor James Evans, Powys Council’s cabinet member for environmental health said: “All food businesses irrespective of their type or size have a statutory responsibility to ensure that their premises and the food they sell comply with food safety regulations and do not put the health of the public at risk.

Mouldy cheese was found by environmental health officers visited a market stall in Newtown run by Marley Cwmgors Food Limited to take a routine food sample (Image: UGC TNW)

“The operators of Marley Cwmgors Food Limited fell far short of the standards expected of them, to the point where they deliberately tried to obstruct and deceive officers.

“The sale of unfit food or food with expired use-by dates can have serious health consequences and officers had to take the steps they did to ensure that the public health risk was limited.

“All food business operators within the county should take note of the penalties they will face if they try and obstruct inspecting officers and deceive members of the public. Endangering public health for financial gain is wholly unacceptable and will not be tolerated by this authority.”